Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will be. I raised this matter under the Social Welfare Bill and will do so under that Bill again tomorrow. Given that the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, is in the Department of Finance, it is important in the appropriation of moneys that we consider the proposal from the Irish Hotels Federation regarding how the hospitality sector is not able to avail of the employment wage support scheme, EWSS, in order to safeguard jobs and protect the industry. There is an issue with the way in which trading in 2021 is being used to channel payment, or not channel it, as it were. I hope that the Minister of State will consider the proposal, which was meant to be addressed under the Finance Bill but we did not reach that recommendation because of time constraints. It is a genuine proposal that has merit. I appreciate that the Government has given considerable support to the hospitality sector but there are issues around staffing for the future, as we all know.I will not repeat the well-worn statements and positions on how the month of December allows the hospitality sector to trade in the quiet months. I hope we will look at this and keep the supports for them. The Government is already providing significant supports.